By Wilmer Amina Carter

Have you ever been the victim of auto repair fraud?  Unfortunately, many of us have, including me. Used car parts can be installed in your vehicle, and you can be charged excessively as if they were new. Or a shop can bill you for a part that was never actually replaced.

Auto "parts switching" is hard to uncover and is among the most common form of auto body repair fraud.  According to the nonprofit Center for Auto Safety, auto body repair fraud costs California consumers over $350 million annually and drives up auto insurance premiums. Such fraud can ruin the structural integrity of a car, or even kill someone in an accident.

According to a 2003 study by the California Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR), over 40 percent of collision repair customers may become victims of auto body repair fraud.  In the survey, 42% of the vehicles inspected had, on average, over $800 in parts or labor listed on the invoice that were not actually supplied or performed. Although
 the majority of auto body repair shops are honest, there are those that still perpetrate fraud.

Working closely with leading insurance and national consumer groups, I introduced Assembly Bill 2825 to directly address this problem.  My measure seeks to enhance existing laws in California, which already make repair fraud illegal. AB 2825 would given consumers a preventative tool by heightening their awareness about parts switching while in the auto body shop and enable them to identify it when it occurs.

Under AB 2825, both the written estimates and detailed invoice will include a written notification to the consumer that installing parts other than those identified on the estimate and invoice, without prior approval from the customer, is unlawful. AB 2825 also strengthens current law by giving consumers the right to request and receive invoice copies of all crash parts used in repairs. Together, these requirements will create more transparency and provide an important deterrent to parts switching.

My colleagues in Sacramento - both Republicans and Democrats - are overwhelmingly supporting my efforts to curb this fraud. Now Governor Schwarzenegger must join with us to put a dent in auto body repair fraud by signing AB 2825 into law. We must do what we can to protect California consumers.

(State Assembly Member Wilmer Amina Carter (D-Rialto) represents the 62nd Assembly District, which includes Colton, Rialto, Bloomington, Muscoy and parts of San Bernardino and Fontana)

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